6 Signs It’s Time To Quit Your Job

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I quit my job today. About 30 seconds ago, as a matter of fact. So naturally, my next step was to jump onto Medium and write about it.

I’ve been in a toxic relationship with my job for about a year. Here are six things that happened as I reached my breaking point:

1. Increased social anxiety. I noticed myself struggling to make small talk with patients and coworkers. I developed a funny little stutter, and found myself feeling completely depleted from simple conversations.
2. Poor sleep quality. The night before a shift, I would toss and turn like a fish out of water. There were a few nights when I’d wake up drenched in sweat with a racing heart. Throw a few night shifts into the mix, and your circadian rhythm is now a complete dumpster fire.
3. You no longer want to tell people about your job. I used to love coming home and telling stories about my patients. I felt proud to tell people, “I’m a nurse.” But eventually I found myself feeling resentful when asked about my job. I would say “It’s going okay” and leave it at that.
4. Increased alcohol consumption. At first, it’s just a glass of wine to wind down after a long work day. Then you find yourself needing to wind down on your days off as well in order to cope with the lingering stress and anxiety of the previous work day. Pretty soon one glass turns to two, and so on.
5. You start updating your LinkedIn profile. You tell yourself you’re just keeping your profile up to date because it’s the professional thing to do. Then one day you find yourself changing your status to “open to work”, and the next you’re connecting with recruiters.
6. You keep getting sick. Chronic stress can produce large amounts of the hormone cortisol. The increased cortisol can suppress the body’s anti-inflammatory response, leading to recurrent infections. If you keep getting sick, or have noticed a new or worsening skin condition like acne or eczema that isn’t responding to medication, it might be time to reevaluate your work life.

Quitting jobs is hard — believe me, I know. I stared at my resignation email for the better part of a day before finally finding the courage to hit send. But here’s the thing — you are your best advocate. Only you know what’s right for you — not your mom, not your friend, not your partner — you. And like they say, when one door closes, another opens.

Cheers to bigger, better, open doors.